Ted Williams was a spectacular baseball player. One of the best. A Hall Of Famer.

On this day in two different years, he made his mark. Among many other achievements.

It was season end in 1941. Williams’ Boston Red Sox were playing the Philadelphia Athletics. A doubleheader. Williams was close to ending the season batting .400. He needed a good day.

Williams went 6 for 8. Ended the season batting .406. The first player to do so since Bill Terry in 1930.

The last game of the 1960 season. Williams last game. He was retiring. At his last time at bat, he hit a home run.

Williams lost 5 years out of his major league career. A Marine fighter pilot in World War II and the Korean War.

Now the real reason I bring Ted Williams to you this day. Williams lived 18 years of his life in Islamorada. He was a fanatic fisherman. He purchased the home in 1960 the year he retired from baseball. On the bayside. Lived there till 1988.

The story is Williams left Islamorada when he had to wait because of traffic to cross U.S. 1.

Yesterday found me glued to the TV set. The Judiciary Committee hearing involving Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford. I missed about 45 minutes when I had to run off to the dentist.

I will go through all that occurred. Most of you watched. My impression simply was that the hearing wasdisgusting. Shameful. Our government has fallen to a new depth.

I happen to believe Ford. I found her testimony credible. I was unimpressed with Kavanaugh. He lies. He lied as to other issues in his previous hearing. He lied again yesterday.

His belligerency left much to be desired. I would not want him on the bench deciding my client’s fate.

Justice Neil Gorsuch and Kavanaugh attended the same high school. Georgetown Prep. Though not classmates, they were there at the same time for 2 years. Recall and compare Gorsuch’s testimony before the Committee last year. Says it all.

The American Bar Association sent a letter to the Committee last night stating an FBI investigation was required. The letter has been ignored. The Committee votes at 1:30 today.

The American people keep getting pushed around. Government is no longer for them. Most know it. The November elections are the first battleground. If things do not begin correcting themselves in the next few years, it will be the streets.

Last night, Blue Macaw. One drink only. I wanted to get out. Enjoyed the drink and company of Andrea and Joe and Paul and Ron. Then home.

The New York Times paid tribute to David Wolkowsky. A lengthy beautiful obituary.

The ocean surrounds the Keys. Locals try to take care of it and those that live in the waters. Turtles, for example..

The Marathon Turtle Hospital announced 2 more turtles will be returned to the sea tomorrow. Healthy and fit. Cafecito at 10 am at Sombrero Beach in Marathon. Buddy at 1 at Higgs Beach in Key West.

Both loggerhead sea turtles.

A massive crowd will be at each location to wish them God speed and bon voyage.

The Key West City Commission knows how to put it to people. The Commission just raised the parking rate from $3 to $4 an hour.

The excuse was it was that or raise property taxes. The budget deficit was $418,000. The parking increase will raise $1.26 million. The $842,000 excess will go to increasing the salaries of the city’s lowest wage earners and to restoring the City’s reserve fund depleted because of Irma.

What about those who live and work in the lower Keys who are not receiving raises. Irma’s impact still being felt. People still trying to catch up. Everyone should eat, or no one.

People’s savings were wiped out by Irma. Where do they get the money to replace the lost savings?

Today and tomorrow, the Ryder Cup. I was up at 5 this morning watching. Tomorrow, at 3. Great golf!

Tomorrow, Syracuse/Clemson. Clemson a 13.5 point favorite. The spread has dropped considerably during the week. Going to be a great game!

Several of us were at the Chart Room at 5 yesterday to visit with Che. An old friend, Chart Room cohort, one who has an empty hole in the bar awaiting his ashes, a first class debater in any friendly argument, a man soon to be 84.

The meeting had been arranged by Jean Thornton. Che has become a recluse in recent months. His health failing. He would not open his door if someone knocked. We wanted to visit with him.

No Che. Failed to appear. Probably decided he simply did not want to do it. No problem. Che has earned the right to call them as he sees them.

Later, Jean and I had dinner together at Hot Tin Roof. Sheila bartending.

Jean and I are a match. We get along well. I consider her a benefactor. Escaped Irma by staying at her home in Birmingham for 12 days.

The Ocean Key House pier was severely damaged by Irma. The contractor waited six months to get back to Ocean Key that he could not do the job for the price bid. Another company has stepped in. They are swiftly working. A huge crane, huge wood posts, etc. I understand the entire pier is going to be redone in concrete.

The article was well researched and wrote swiftly. I had time left over. Skimmed the internet a bit to determine what the following week’s article will be.

Came up with the subject! Sand! The world is running out of sand. A black market has developed. I did some preliminary research. Interesting.

What a difference 100 years make! Price of Key West Hotel rooms.

In 1914, the Panama Hotel was located at the corner of Eaton and Elizabeth Streets. A new hotel. Running water in each room. A big deal! Rates $1.00, $1.50, and $2.00.

A sad situation. Paul Donnelly was the Key West Citizen Controller. In a management restructuring in March, Paul was one of the those let go.

Paul got in trouble last thursday in Plainview, Michigan. He robbed a bank. Walked up to a teller, handed her a note saying this is a robbery and my bag contains a bomb.

Paul walked out with $4,700. Eight hours later, he was arrested without incident.

Paul was in Plainview visiting relatives. The relatives claim Paul was suicidal, the bank robbery a call for help, he was fighting alcoholism, the sudden loss of his job had affected him, and he had recurring problems from a brain tumor.

Several years ago, I wrote a KONK Life article re Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo. The Waterloo battle was waged this day in 1815.

I discovered in my research at the time that the popular reason for Napoleon’s defeat was not correct. It was not the genius of the Duke of Wellington, though his military prowess probably did make some contribution.

Napoleon had hemorrhoids. They were extremely painful the night before. He doped himself with some narcotic that evening and in the late morning when he woke to kill the pain. He overslept. Did not get to the battlefield till just before noon. The battle had started in the early morning.

He could not sit comfortably on his horse. As a result, he did not move around the battlefield to personally view and assess conditions.

The battle was lost early evening.

My research clearly indicated it was the hemorrhoids that did him in.

The immigration children problem disturbs me as it must most of you. Children separated from parents. Sort of a Sophie’s choice, though not as final.

Totally un-American. Not what good people do. I am ashamed my country is doing this.

The problem has to be resolved like yesterday. Realistically, by the end of this week.

How would Trump have felt if his three oldest when young were taken from him and his wife in a fashion similar to what is occurring at the borders? Or, Barron today?

Cock fighting in the lower Keys was a big deal back when. Perhaps even today. I recall a few years ago a group was arrested for involvement with cock fighting.

BOB reports British Peter had a cock fighting experience.

The time would have been the mid 1990’s. Peter was driving cab for a living. New to the job. Got a call asking if he would go to Rockland Key to pick up a fare. Peter jumped at the chance. The fare $17 plus tip.

He picked up 3 young boys each with a paper bag on a side road off US 1. They asked to be taken to Bahama Village. Made sure they had money to pay. Started up and reached the intersection with US 1.

All of a sudden, a huge truck was behind the cab. Lights glaring, horn blowing, and the driver waving out the window. Peter had no idea what was going on. He immediately called for help. The Sheriff’s Department arrived in 2 minutes.

The guy in the tuck ran to the cab. The boys jumped out and ran onto US 1 emptying their bags as they ran. They assumed the chickens would run into the woods. Not so. The chickens were fighters. They engaged in a mammoth cock fight on US 1 in front of the Sheriff Deputies.

The guy in the truck was arrested. The kids taken into custody. The chickens collected.

A problem arose. The Sheriff/County had no place to keep the chickens pending trial. Evidence. They solved the problem in Key West fashion. The chickens were turned over to the now defendant truck driver who they assumed knew how to safeguard them.

BOB does not tell us how the case ended. Was there a trial? Were the chickens produced? I doubt it. These chickens were lucky if they saw the light of day following the incident.

The situation bothered Peter. He put a sign in his cab: No Rockland County trips, no Rockland County residents.

Being bunkered down in Birmingham not bad. Joe is off working somewhere in the west. Jean home with us.

We party starting at 5 each evening. Cocktails and then dinner. Alcohol and wine galore. Exceptional food. Stories flow. Laughter prevails.

Not bad.

Miss Key West, however. I can’t wait to return.

Jean Thornton our hostess. Savior perhaps a better word. I have a new label for the wonderful Jean. Hostess with the mostest. The Perle Mesta of Birmingham and Key West.

Jean, a continued thank you for your generosity.

Liz. My dear friend Liz. A year older than me. We date. She cooks for me. We do Dueling Bartenders together. We communicate.

Irma on its way! Liz chartered a plane and flew out. Did not even think to call Louis.

For shame!

I am kidding. Do feel forgotten, however. Liz is in her St. Petersburg home. Large and strong. Survived Irma. Power out. She has a supply of ice however and is able to keep certain foods cold.

Linda Grist Cunningham is a retired newspaper woman. She and her husband now Key West residents.

Linda was in Virginia with her sickly mother as Irma was arriving. Her husband Ed in Key West. He is riding the storm out with Sheila and David in their Key West penthouse. They survived Irma well.

Linda has prepared an excellent run down on Irma. Irma: “End of day one in Key West. What we know and don’t.” She also has put together an Irma site: Hurricane Irma Key West.

I plagiarize from End of day one. Linda’s accumulated facts better than anything I could put together.

Irma hit Key West as a category 4 8:30 sunday morning. Actual landfall 20 miles up US 1 at Cudjoe Key. One hundred thirty miles per hour.

Key West has water problems. Main line intact. Some branches broken. A boil water warning in effect.

Many trees down. Those still standing bare. Down to the bark. Foliage ripped away.

There are 42 bridges between Key West and the main land. All have to be checked.

US 1 asphalt road surfaces ripped away in certain areas.

Linda’s advisory for those who remained in Key West simple. Conserve water, eat sparingly, and be certain to help each other our.

Thank you, Linda. Keep publishing.

Late tonight is Birmingham’s time for an Irma visit. Two in the morning. Not bad. A tropical storm or depression. Kid stuff after what other areas have suffered. We sill be safe in Jean’s home. I will probably sleep through it.

I have complained re the media’s lack of coverage. Miami north covered. The Keys, especially the southern ones, forgotten. We are people too! We were hit first and hard. Media reps should have been in Key West.

One of the Irma escapees in our group has family in the Virgin Islands. Hit by a 5. She has been glued to the TV looking for Virgin Island reports in addition to Key West. Zip! Nothing!

I am doing my Key West Lou Live video on Facebook daily. Nothing fancy. Sitting in a chair holding my cell phone out in front of me.

Mostly Irma at this time. A few minutes. Take a look. You will enjoy.

Finally and most importantly. Yes, there is something more important than Irma. Though some may disagree.

Rose for cocktail hour. Drinks/drinking excellent! Never had a Beefeaters last night, though a giant bottle was waiting for me when I arrived. Margaritas and wine. The wine exceptional.

Dinner a holiday table. Great food. A neighbor prepared lasagna. Another prepared a Texas streetcake. Chocolate. Absolutely delicious! The wine flowed continuously. Joe started things off with a prayer. Called for under the circumstances.

There are only 9 of us here. Feels like much more. Fortunately, the house is large enough so we neither run into each other and can get a degree of privacy if so desired.

Several slept on sleeping bags and couches last night. Jean had two neighbors who offered private rooms and beds. We all opted to stay together in one house. Team spirit.

The Sheriff moved the 460 Monroe County Jail inmates from Stock Island to a facility in Palm Beach County. One hundred twenty five correction officers went with them and will remain with them.

I do not understand why the inmates were moved. The jail imposing stone and brick.

The Sheriff also maintains an animal farm. Many animals. Well taken care of. A place to visit. The animals were moved from the farm to the jail.

If the jail is safe enough for treasured animals, it should have been safe enough for the inmates.

As of 9 this morning, US 1 not flooded. Except for one lane in Islamorada.

The TV channels are not reporting Irma properly. A lot of talk and next to no video re Key West. Everything video wise primarily Miami.

It is obvious there are no TV people in Key West.

TV is trying to fool people. They got caught by those of us in this house. They ran a video of a flooded Key Largo street. Water rolling as far as the eye could see. 2-3 feet. Two streets.

The streets were Duval and Front in Key West.

Gotcha!

Saw a picture on my cell phone of a woman lighting a candle at St. Mary’s of the Sea in Key West. Large votive candles. A statue of the Blessed Mother.

The belief is if candles are lite and prayers said asking for relief from a storm, such conduct will help. I am not being disrespectful, but I have never seen a Key West hurricane avoided by such conduct.

Saw another video of the White Street Pier on Facebook. The Pier totally covered in water. Right up to the rails. Huge waves pouring over the rails. Two Key Westers running around taking the video. Finally, one of them shouted to the other: Lets get out of here…..this place is too dangerous!

The Marriott Beachside opened its doors yesterday or a day before to guests. Minimum rate. The place is packed with those who stayed. Like Mark Watson. The Marriott was built to sustain a category 5.

Mark Watson reported on Facebook yesterday that they had moved him from a first floor room to a third floor one. Sounded ominous.

La Concha is also taking guests. Built somewhere back in the 1920’s. Survived over the years. Thought safe.

I have considered Florida’s Governor Scott a flaming asshole up to this point. His political/social decisions rarely helpful to the populace in general. Favor the affluent.

He has turned me around. His Irma conduct beyond belief. His actions thought out and necessary. Like ok for a line of traffic to travel on highway shoulders. Move the cars faster!

In prior storms, all traffic lanes move in one direction. The game plan to get people out of danger’s way faster. For Irma, one lane kept open going the other way. Fuel trucks. To get needed gasoline to the southern part of the State.

Every conceivable way has been utilized to get people out of harm’s way. Buses provided. Sick and elderly removed from their homes to a safe place. Etc.

Reported that police and fire have left. Felt everything conceivable had been done to get people out. I would agree. I do not believe that some police and fire did not remain. My friends e-mail me that some have remained at the Marriott Beachside.

The Audubon House. On the corner of Whitehead and Greene Streets. Built way back when by a Captain Geiger.

In 1832, the famous bird painter John James Audubon spent 20 days residing at the house. He discovered 18 new breed of birds and painted them.

Our little group has some persons purportedly knowledgeable about Audubon in Key West.

The story told is that Audubon would discover the new breed in the morning. Kill it. Stretch it on something so he could paint it. Painted in the afternoon. Cooked and ate the bird for dinner at night.

It was the eating of the bird in the evening that I found extraordinary.

Those of us here are bonding. I am waiting for someone to suggest we have an Irma reunion once a year.

Baseball great Ted Williams was a fisherman. Loved it! Spent many years in waters off Islamorada fishing. While still a major leaguer and then in retirement.

One of Williams’ favorite haunts was the Lorelei. An on the water eatery and bar on the Gulf side. My favorite lunch and watering hole when in Islamorada.

The Chart Room at the Pier House is of historical significance. Many stories have emanated therefrom. One being that Jimmy Buffett got his first paying job playing and singing there. Buffett has always credited David Wolkowsky for having given him his first paying job playing and singing in the Chart Room.

The Lorelei has its stories also. One involves Ted Williams. It is said Ted Williams sold his home and moved out of the Keys when he had to start waiting for a break in traffic to cross US 1.

Accepted as true.

Getting back to David Wolkowsky, on this day in 1967 David began construction of the Pier House Motel. Fifty units. The predecessor of today’s Pier House Resort. David built the Reach and many other properties in Key West. He is now 97 and still active.

Key West and Jimmy Buffett might not have been were it not for David Wolkowsky.

Yesterday was sunday. I spent it as the Lord’s Day. Did nothing. Never left home. Laid around reading and napping.

Oh Syracuse, my Syracuse! Please win the next and last three league scheduled games!

Early American colonists may very well have invented scalping. Not Indians.

On this day in 1725, a group of American colonists engaged in scalping. A posse of New Hampshire volunteers came across a band of encamped Indians. The colonists took 10 scalps.

Ten being the most significant number taken to that date by colonists.

Boston colonial authorities were no longer good neighbors with the Indians. They were paying a bounty of 100 pounds per scalp.

Not the first time the colonists had abused their Indian neighbors.

In the 1600s, a group of colonists attacked and defeated a large band of Indians. Beheaded many of them. Then played a form of ice hockey down the streets using the Indian heads as pucks.

The colonists involved were mostly immigrated from Europe. Where did they learn scalping and beheading? Europe or the colonies?

Go Live LIVE! The several short videos I am doing on Facebook each day has already developed a significant following. Many comments. Interestingly, those providing comments are a different group from those sharing their views here.

Try to see and hear Go Live with Key West Lou. SHARE it with your friends. Help me to develop a following.

It is time again! For the handful of righteous to complain about Fantasy Fest. Specifically, the nudity. More hearings. Press attention.

The group is a squeaky wheel. Receives more attention than deserved.

Fantasy Fest is an adult party. If the nudity offends, stay away!

Dinner at La Trattoria by the Ocean last night. Food good. Food always good over the years.

I tried Open Table to make a reservation. For 7 o’clock. Received a confirmation. Arrived at 7. The hostess told me my table was still occupied. I asked how long a wait. She did not know.

She had already noted I had an Open Table reservation. I reminded her of that fact. Give me any table. She said the next one. I told her I would be at the bar.

Forty five minutes and two drinks later, I returned to her. Asked pleasantly when I should start complaining? About what, she asked. I told her and reminded her of our earlier conversation. She remembered neither me nor the reservation.

She told me my Open Table reservation showed a no show/cancellation.

Politely, I said just give me a table. She looked up and said, Oh, I see one over there.

Ordered. A century later, still no food. A long wait. No drinks, either.

I do not know whose fault it was. I suspect the hostess. I was there on time. She probably failed to click some part of the Open Table program..

Anti-gravity treadmill in the morning. Research in the afternoon. Next week’s KONK Life column will tell the story of a female pirate.

US 1 and Northern Boulevard are both dangerous travel lanes. An accident slows down traffic and sometimes causes delays of 3-4 hours.

A three car crash occurred on US 1 yesterday. On Niles Channel Bridge. Minimum injuries, fortunately. Police directed traffic over one lane for two hours. During that time, traffic was backed up 8-10 miles in both directions.

An interesting fact. Locals do not seem disturbed when delays occur. An accepted part of the Key West life style.

Harry Truman. Harry Truman loved Key West and Key West loves Harry Truman. Visited our island 11 separate times for a total of 175 days.

In 1953 after leaving office, Truman decided to tale a family vacation to Honolulu. Wife Bess and daughter Margaret joined him. A Kansas City newspaper made it sound like a desertion of Key West.

Nothing farther from the truth. Truman returned several times to Key West after he left the Presidency. Stayed at a private residence those times.

Commercial air travel was not yet in vogue. It was a train from Kansas City to San Francisco. Then a boat to Honolulu. The Union Pacific Railroad and the liner President Cleveland.

Truman had been to Honolulu one time before. On his trip to Wake Island to chastise General Douglas MacArthur. When he landed in Honolulu, he refused a flower lei. Said it was not appropriate for a President to wear. On the later trip no longer being President, he accepted the lei.

The Catholic Church has screwed things up more than once over the years. Religion in general has.

On this day in 1633, Galileo made his first appearance before the Roman Inquisition. He was charged with heresy for advocating the earth revolved around the sun and not vice versa. The Catholic Church disagreed. The Church claimed the earth and not the sun was the center of the universe.

My problem is not with the Church’s ignorance. It is why the Church was even involved in an astronomical/scientific issue. One that had nothing to do with saving souls.

Greece, my Greece. Poverty and hard times still abound.

The Eurounion imposed a new and more severe austerity program on Greece last year. Since that time, farmers have had their social security payments tripled and their taxes doubled.

Last month, the farmers protested. In Athens. Eight hundred strong. Drove their tractors into town and blocked a main thoroughfare. A demonstration followed. Soon a battle between farmers and police. The farmers defended themselves against the police with tomatoes and shepherd’s crocks.

Question: Why was this scenario not reported to us by the media? I have no recollection of reporting or discussion.

If I am correct, it is further proof that the news we receive is selective in nature. I blame the corporations owning the various news media. They call the shots.

The Waterfront Playhouse’s fund raiser at the San Carlos last night a hit! It could not miss! Laurie Breakwell and Vicki Roush entertained. Their singing representative of the best Key West has to offer.

I stopped at La Concha for their happy hour before the show. Sliders and flat bread. A half block from the San Carlos.

A private party afterwards at Mangoes. Opted not to attend. I was not in the mood for a crowd. Stopped back at La Concha for a night cap and then home.

The weather sucks! No other way to describe it. Cold and rainy. Rain and strong winds comparable to a monsoon. Long pants, slicker and an umbrella time.

Sixties during the night. Tonight in the high 50s. At the moment, the winds are driving right into and through my bedroom wall. Cold projected through friday.

Key West enjoys a variety of crimes. Those with an odd twist are reported daily in the Key West Citizen. Page 2, under the title Crime Report. This morning’s a bit different.

Told of a woman who lost her driver’s license. She was walking from her home on Eisenhower to see the sunset. She put her driver’s license and a credit card in her bra. The credit car made the trip. The driver’s license did not. She called the police to report it missing.

Such was the “crime” of the day.

Florida’s state capital is Tallahassee. Tallahassee is located at the northern end of Florida. Key West, the south. Many miles apart.

I sometimes wonder if State officials ever make their way to Key West. I think Key West is considered by them as a Siberian outpost.

US 1 is the State’s responsibility. A State road.

The State took three years to redo Northern Boulevard in Key West. Northern Boulevard is US 1. The State screwed up as to crossing points for pedestrians. No lights, except for one yellow blinking one. Problem is it blinks all the time. Even when no one crossing..

Accidents guaranteed. A pedestrian death to occur.

Key West wants a button and a red light. The State says nothing needed. They did a good job in the first instance. However to satisfy local clamor, they will add a button and blinking yellow lights.

Assholes!

The State official involved should visit Key West and try to cross Northern Boulevard at different times of the day. His life will be in danger!

Super Bowl tonight! I will be watching at a private party of two.

On this day in 1964, the Beatles landed in New York. Two days later on February 9, they appeared on the Ed Sullivan show. Seventy two million watched them on TV.

It was a moment in American musical history.

Money/value was different in those days. The Beatles signed to appear on three Ed Sullivan shows for a grand package of $10,000.

The Beatles made it to Key West later in the year. They were flying to Jacksonville and had to put down in Key West to avoid Hurricane Dora. They stayed at a Southern Boulevard motel.

It is reported that after the Beatles left, people were going onto the property to fill small bottles of water from the pool the Beatles swam in.

Between this morning and late afternoon, i will be writing this week’s KONK Life column. A Li’l Abner introduction. Joe Btfspik and the cloud always over his head.